Indian HC Trivedi meets Moyeen Khan, vows to deepen bilateral cooperation

Bangladesh and India pledged Tuesday to deepen bilateral cooperation, with Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi saying the two neighbours should look ahead despite the weight of the past.

“The past cannot be forgotten, but one cannot remain stuck in the past either,” Trivedi told reporters after a courtesy meeting with Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan at the Secretariat.

State Minister for Local Government Mir Shahe Alam also attended the meeting.

Khan said Bangladesh and India should build on their historically close relationship while focusing on shared interests and the welfare of their peoples.

The two sides discussed expanding trade and economic cooperation, including the potential for a free trade arrangement. Khan also stressed stronger people-to-people contacts as a way of taking bilateral relations to a new level.

Trivedi congratulated Khan on the 48th founding anniversary of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and on assuming his ministerial post, while praising his long political career.

The Indian envoy also proposed greater cooperation in skills development and local governance, including training for Bangladeshi officials at an institute in Hyderabad. He said New Delhi remained optimistic about expanding cooperation with Dhaka on the basis of mutual interests.

Pressed by reporters about Bangladesh’s domestic politics, however, Trivedi declined to be drawn into the debate.

“Whatever the people of Bangladesh judge to be right, that is what will happen,” he said, adding that a party commanding a two-thirds majority in parliament was best placed to understand the country’s circumstances.

Shahe Alam, meanwhile, said the government remained committed to holding free, fair and impartial elections across all five tiers of local government within the current fiscal year.

Briefing reporters, the state minister said India had shown interest in observing the local government elections and could send observers following further discussions.

“We will discuss the matter with the Election Commission,” he said.

The meeting was also attended by Local Government Division Secretary Md Shahidul Hasan, Indian Deputy High Commissioner Pawan Badhe and senior officials from the ministry and the Indian High Commission.

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